ICM AH-1 Late Cobra.

[DocRob]

Very nice painting result Carl and the masks have worked very well. I really want to start mine soon, but there is still some wood to chuck first. Actually, I will add the Special Hobby 48 scale in Spanish livery to my stash, as I like the Cobra in dark blue with Spanish insignia.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks Rob! I'm quite happy with the results. 

I started on the decals. They're working out nicely. 

The ones on the tail have gone over the rivets nicely with a couple applications of Mr Mark Softer. 

That being said, I'm thinking of masking and painting the shark mouth. There's just too many different shapes to cover with it if I use the decals. 

[Martinnfb]

Are we there yet? :), OK this was rather fast Carl, lovely attention to detail 

[Drifter]

Superb work. Hopefully I can get my Mojo back now that my life is slowly coming back together again. 

[BlrwestSiR]

On 4/10/2022 at 3:21 PM, Martinnfb said:

Are we there yet? :), OK this was rather fast Carl, lovely attention to detail 

It really had been a quick build. I'm going to get back to it tonight and see how much more I can get done. 

[BlrwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Drifter said:

Superb work. Hopefully I can get my Mojo back now that my life is slowly coming back together again. 

Thanks! Hope you find it and get back to thehe bench. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Jimmy's been needing some extra attention since his operation so haven't been down to the bench like I hoped. I did get the main rotor blades glued together so maybe later today I'll be able to get those into paint and have something to show. 

Edited April 15, 2022 by BlrwestSiR
Fix typo

[BlrwestSiR]

As mentioned, not much time at the bench but enough to make some progress. 

The rotor blades were cleaned up and prepped for paint. Same with the tailplanes, tail rotor and the rotor head. 

After a coat of white primer, I sprayed red and yellow as required. 

Once they're dry, I'll move onto the black. 

[KevinM]

On 4/13/2022 at 3:24 PM, BlrwestSiR said:

It really had been a quick build.

When it's an ICM kit it seems to happen on it's own makes building fun.The Cobra is looking Suuuper SeSweeet!!

[BlrwestSiR]

I got the rotor blades painted. 

I then assembled them onto the main shaft so that's all done. 

So why is it on helos they're called rotors and on a plane they're propellers? 

Anyways, shark mouth time. I wasn't too keep on applying the kit decals for the shark mouth so I tried making masks the old fashioned way. 

I photocopied the decal sheet and laid a piece of kabuki tape over it. 

After tracing the shark mouth onto the tape I cut it out and applied it to the model. 

I then sprayed AK primer in white onto the shark mouth. 

Once that's dry, I'll cut a mask for the teeth, mask those off and spray the red. 

[JohnB]

Nice attention to detail Carl! Gonna be a beauty!

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks John! This kit is going together very nicely. 

[BlrwestSiR]

I got the red onto the shark mouth. 

First I traced and copied the shark teeth.

The turret has some too. 

Then I hit it with the red. 

Moment of truth. 

[DocRob]

Some very nice extra work, which paid really off.

Cheers Rob

[KevinM]

Nice!!!!

[Bomber_County]

Carl, this build almost passed me by, stunning build. Having built the Ju 88 ( I owe you guys some pics of it) I also well recommend ICM. I’ve never built a helo of any sort and this may just push me…..

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks guys! This kit is going together quite nicely and smoothly too. 

Phil, I'd definitely recommend it if you've never built a help before. 

[BlrwestSiR]

So looking at the weapons loadout chart in the kit, they suggest a  podded M134 minigun on the inboard station opposite the M35 Vulcan. There's a pair of them in the kit but the details are a bit simple. 

I didn't want to go overboard but decided to add a couple details. 

I drilled out the circular vents on either side. 

For the minigun, I used a Live Resin M134 I had in the spares box. 

I mocked up a simple drive assembly, painted it and glued it in place. 

I then glued the halves together and gave it a coat of paint. 

You can just make out the barrel inside through both the vents and the front opening. 

So a quick improvement.

Metallic Details make a nice 3D printed set that have a removable front cover that shows the full minigun underneath. I'll probably use that on my Special Hobby kit when the time comes. 

[BlrwestSiR]

Next up was many of the small details on the airframe- lift rings, antennae etc. 

I also painted the landing skids. 

Finally I started finishing the fuselage by adding the stub wings, the M35 fuselage pods and hung the M134 gun pod. 

I think I'm close to the home stretch now. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by BlrwestSiR
Fix typo

[DocRob]

Wow Carl, the Cobra is coming together fast and very nice. The detail on the Minigun was a bit on the weak side, so your tweak enrichens the appearance. It's always good to have a kit with a flat bottom to sit on, I can tell you while working on a wooden ship with delicate underwater shape .

Cheers Rob 

[Maxim61]

Nice progress on the snake.

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks guys! 

Almost there. Putting on the decals, and final details. 

 

 

[DocRob]

Very nice and fast build, Carl, makes me almost want to start mine .

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Rob, the canopy is the only fussy bit. Take your time and it goes together just fine. 

I got the last pair of rocket pods finished. 

 

With those mounted, time to call this one finished. 

I'm happy I picked the kit up and even more glad I got the Special Hobby release in the stash for later on. 

[KevinM]

Noticed but have never mentioned it but ICM does some nice glass.